Monday afternoon stayed nice so we decided to take the day off and headed ashore to the beach at the Calabash resort. Really pretty place – had a great time bobbing, sunbathing and generally chilling. 
Whilst at the beach bar we were talking to the English chef – the Calabash has a Gary Rhodes restaurant – and we mentioned that we had been here many years ago and enjoyed a lovely afternoon at a small bar in Lower Woburn with some local guys, one of whom – Roger – worked as a chef here too. It turns out, sadly, that at a very young age Roger died from a massive brain clot, but that LeslieAnn, the supervisor here in the bar, was his widow! Small world… So we enjoyed talking about this great chap and how he and his friends made us welcome all that time ago. Poignant too especially when we realised that LeslieAnn had been left with twins who have limited recollection of their father as they were very young when he passed away and are now coming up for their sixth birthday……
Looking back out to the anchorage it is time to go…so we said our farewells.
Back on board we had a quick shower and headed into Prickly Bay marina for happy hour and pizza night. Kill or cure after a few beers on the beach – so I ordered the small healthy option pizza with salad but ended up with some concoction with chips! Weird…and not nice either… Couldn’t be bothered to send it back because the waitress was absolutely rushed off her feet and we had already waited a long time. Oh well…. at least they have a nice Christmas tree!
Tuesday we headed into the dinghy dock and took the long hot walk into town as we need to get some drinking vouchers from the bank and some provisions before we leave Prickly Bay. By the time we got there Richard was hungry so we popped into a local eatery and he had his first chicken roti of the season – I’m still being cautious so just had soda water! Went to the discount supermarket and loaded up with soft drinks and some rum rations along with a few other things – wow, really heavy, and a loooong walk back. So we flagged down a local bus to help us with a little bit of the journey. But we still managed to walk about three miles laden down like donkeys! Phew! Back on board and after another shower we got ready to welcome Peter and Sylvia on board for sundowners. Had a really fun evening with them – followed by an early night….
Wednesday finishing up the current list of boat jobs – almost there – and have decided we are going to move around to Clarkes Court Bay on Thursday when the sea state has calmed down a bit and hopefully the rain has moved on…. Quiet day on board – didn’t even go ashore – and managed to tick off most things on our list. Thursday morning up really early, went into the marina for some bread for the freezer, and then waited for a rain shower to go away before we picked up anchor. Heading out the seas were pretty flat and the sun was shining…. Nice. Only moving five miles, straight into the wind and waves, so we decided to drag dink along behind us and motor.
Oh hang on … there is a massive squall coming our way as we turn towards our destination. So we head further out to avoid the breaking seas in the shallow water – then the squall hit – WHITEOUT and 38 knots of wind – and it went on for quite a while. We were bouncing off the top of breaking waves, slamming down and burying our nose deep, and then spluttering back up for more trying to steer around them best we could. It must have looked pretty dramatic to anyone watching – we were just hanging on! Finally, as we neared the entrance channel to our destination according to our electronic charts, the gloom lifted enough for us to see the markers to guide us in. Phew…. glad to get the protection of the reef as we came through.
Thursday night Sha Sha came on board for sundowners – and we had a really nice, if boozy, reunion. Talked about plans for Christmas and, as they have been anchored in this area for a while, they have sussed out all the good stuff for us to do…..
Friday morning and we were doing our hangover cure bit – jumping straight into the sea. Lovely way to start a day! What a great view from our galley port too while fixing breakfast.
After breakfast we headed out in dink for a tour around to see if we could book ourselves in for the festivities. So went to Whisper Cove Marina to visit the butcher and got some great veal fillet as well as some lean bacon and fresh-baked bread. We also booked ourselves in for their Italian buffet and live music night on Christmas Eve. Had a couple of beers while he prepared the meat for us and we waited for the rain to pass – there was a huge iguana there too but he legged it the minute I got the camera out. Typical! From Whisper Cove we enjoyed watching Morphie sitting out in the bay on anchor all shiny with loads of swinging room around her.
Then we moved onto Taffys and managed to get booked in for their full three course Christmas day turkey dinner along with pigs in blankets etc! Hurrah…. That’s Christmas sorted then – we even have a bottle of bubbly in the fridge so that we can toast friends and family on the day itself. Back on board and a quiet afternoon of reading, sleeping and no drinking before bed….. at the outrageous time of 8pm!
Saturday and we are up before the sun – what a gorgeous sight as it rose into the sky.
Boat jobs take precedence again today – and Richard has fixed the lock on the heads. We’ve also swapped out the nylon washer and greased up the gooseneck as it was squeaking overnight. For our non-sailing friends this means taking the boom off from the mast. We also re-commissioned both the watermaker and the generator and topped up our water tanks. And we greased up the steering gear and checked all the through hulls – and Richard turned two little LED lights into navigation lights to hang on dink when we are out and about at night. What a great job!
Saturday night after dinner on board we dinked round the headland to Le Phare Bleu for their Christmas concert. What a treat – Tammy Baldeo was the lead artist – and she is absolutely amazing and I would love her to get discovered! Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and headed back to Morphie glowing in the dark with our new lights….
Sunday morning up early, had a swim, and now chilling at Whisper Cove Marina doing laundry, blogging etc. Love this life!
To our friends and family we wish you a very Happy Christmas and hope that you all enjoy the day with each other. We will raise a glass to you all in the morning and remember those special people who are no longer with us.
Bye for now
Jan